The court of appeal sitting in Abuja has nullified the seven-year jail sentence handed down to Olisa Metuh, former spokesman of the Peoples Democratic Party.

In its ruling on Thursday, the court held that Okon Abang, judge of a federal high court in Abuja, exhibited bias in the case of the former PDP spokesman.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had arraigned Metuh on seven counts of money laundering for allegedly receiving N400 million from the office of the national security adviser.

On February 25, 2020, the trial court pronounced him guilty on all counts of money laundering and sentenced him to seven years in prison.

More to follow…

The minister announced that the nation’s four refineries we’re being rehabilitated.

Nigeria is repositioning it’s oil and gas sector in a bid to leverage the opportunities provided by the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA) to become the main petroleum products refining hub for the continent.

Junior petroleum resources minister Timipre Sylva made the ambitious disclosure at the AfCFTA Oil and Gas Virtual Workshop, organised in collaboration with the ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment.

Represented at the event by Bitrus Nabasu, permanent secretary in the ministry, Mr. Sylva said Nigeria had ratified the AfCFTA, which would begin implementation in January 2021.

The minister said the AfCFTA aims to redefine trade relations within African states and proposes the creation of a central market for goods and services, enabling free movement of people and investments across Africa’s 54 countries.

”Nigeria is willing to leverage on AfCFTA to reposition its oil and gas sector for its next phase of growth. This is in line with the achievement of the vision of our national petroleum policy and national gas policy,” the minister said.

Mr. Sylva said that the government had begun rehabilitating the country’s four refineries, using a public-private partnership strategy, adding that the refineries would have a 90 per cent combined production capacity by 2023.

He said the Dangote Refinery, Lagos, and the Waltersmith Modular Refinery, Imo, as well as others coming on stream in the next few years, would transform Nigeria from a net importer to a net exporter of petroleum products.

The minister also said that when the Petroleum Industry Bill was passed it would provide the fiscal framework for attracting more investments into the sector, adding that the government was also committed to deepening gas utilisation as seen in its National Gas Expansion Programme and the autogas scheme.

Also speaking, Adeniyi Adebayo, Minister of Industry ,Trade and Investment, said the oil and gas sector was an important component of Nigeria’s economy, hence the need to position the industry to reap the benefits of AfCFTA.

Mr. Adebayo said: ”If Nigeria is to benefit from AfCFTA, it needs to re-strategise all sectors of the economy, particularly oil and gas.

“We must explore any available opportunity to make Nigeria a refining hub”, he said.

He admitted that AfCFTA’s implementation would come with challenges, and that all hands must be put on deck to overcome the challenges for the benefit of Nigeria and the African continent.

On his part, Clement Isong, a chief executive of the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), said the private sector could play a vital role in transforming Nigeria into a refining hub.

Mr. Isong said this would save the federal government the huge expenditure currently incurred on subsidising petroleum products and administrative costs associated with superintending over price control in the industry.

He noted that it would also create employment for millions of Nigerian youths and address the long-term degradation of the capacity, infrastructure and standards in the downstream petroleum industry, while building a sustainable industry.

“The private sector also has a role to develop an industry that has capacity to attract Local and Foreign Direct Investments into Nigeria, through the establishment of ancillary and derivate industries and through equity participation.

”To achieve these critical objectives, the right environment needs to be established; an environment that supports a market-based philosophy based on the sustainability of the petroleum industry,” Mr. Isong said.

The Chief Justice of Nigeria Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad is enduring a torrid battle with dementia and heart disease complications, Peoples Gazette can report, based on testimony of highly competent Supreme Court sources familiar with his deteriorating condition.

Mr. Muhammad was ferried overseas for urgent treatment of his illness, which has been kept under wraps since he assumed office as Nigeria’s top jurist in 2019, two sources working closely with him told the Gazette. Our sources spoke under anonymity to avoid being targeted for interacting with reporters on a matter that was being hushed at the Supreme Court.

Mr. Muhammad’s struggle with dementia, an ailment causing loss of memory, had first manifested when he ordered the appointment of another chief registrar of the Supreme Court, despite the existence of a substantive registrar, Hadizatu Uwani Mustapha, our sources said.

Another source told the Gazette that the CJN also exhibited another dangerous instance of memory lapses when he unveiled plans to “go to the Presidential Villa to meet with President Olusegun Obasanjo” – a former Nigerian leader, whom he wrongly adjudged to be the incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari.

“His illness has been deteriorating and we are all now very concerned that the man might find it difficult to remember his own name soon,” the Supreme Court official said. “He has been doing so many dangerous things.”

Prior to being flown abroad, Mr. Muhammad was moved to Kaduna because his handlers felt it would be easier for people to learn of his ailments if allowed to keep occupying his official residence in Abuja.

Another source familiar with the matter said Mr. Muhammad’s situation had left his son in control of judicial policies in the country, even though they had no formal appointment to play such roles.

The chief registrar of the Supreme Court and a senior aide to the chief justice did not return requests from the Gazette for comments.

A spokesman for the National Judicial Council declined comments about whether or not his principal was being managed for dementia and heart diseases.

The CJN’s health challenge heightens concerns that the heads of Nigeria’s judicial and executive arms of government could be suffering from similar cognitive crises.

Last week, the Gazette exclusively reported President Muhammadu Buhari’s decision to back out of an interactive session with federal lawmakers to render accounts for his handling of national security.

Sources at last week’s national caucus meeting of the ruling APC held at the Presidential Villa — wherein Mr. Buhari finalised his withdrawal from the meeting with parliamentarians — told the Gazette that the move was hinged on fears that the president could be exposed as too frail to govern or not mentally-aware of the heightened security situation in the country.

But the president’s handlers maintain he had no issues with his cognitive capabilities despite all evidence to the country. Mr. Muhammad’s allies had taken a similar approach in handling his memory shortcomings.

Ibrahim Saulawa, an associate justice of the Supreme Court, had disclosed Tuesday that Mr. Muhammad was receiving treatment in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, having contracted the coronavirus.

Mr. Saulawa’s disclosure was, however, refuted by Supreme Court spokesman Festus Akande, who strongly argued that the chief justice hadn’t tested positive for the viral infection.

Mr. Akande did not clarify reasons for the CJN’s Dubai trip, as well as his conspicuous absence at a ceremony on Monday when dozens of senior advocates were sworn in.

“The Hon. CJN, Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad being unavoidably absent at a function is not enough to plunge into this premeditated conclusion that there’s now anxiety over his health,” the Supreme Court spokesman said in a statement Tuesday night. “I wish to state categorically clear that there is no medical report so far made available by anybody indicating that the Hon. CJN has tested positive for coronavirus.”

Peoplesgazatte

The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has warned police escort vehicles to desist from driving against traffic, warning that the law is no respecter of anybody.

The Lagos State FRSC Sector Commander, Olusegun Ogungbemide, gave the warning following the traffic gridlock caused by one-way driving policemen who escorted a VIP along Ibafo area on Lagos-Ibadan Expressway on Monday.

The FRSC boss decried the impunity and lawlessness by the police escorts who also attacked FRSC operatives while trying to ease the gridlock on the expressway.

He said that their disregard for traffic law was inimical to safety and free flow of traffic.

“The FRSC personnel on traffic control noticed a standstill traffic situation on the outward Lagos section of the Lagos-Ibadan expressway and made effort to track the cause of the heavy movement.

“The officers discovered that at Mountain Top University area, a convoy of four vehicles with police escort were driving against the flow of traffic, thereby causing gridlock within the narrowed lane.

“The FRSC team approached the police operatives, insisted that the vehicles turn back and follow their rightful lanes but the drivers and the escort refused to obey their plea, rather, one of the policemen pointed his riffle at our men and threatened to shoot at them.

“Also, another policeman sighted an FRSC Marshal who was recording the happenings around the scene.

“The police man rushed to the Marshal with his riffle, snatched the phone and smashed it on the road, damaging the phone completely,” Ogunbemide said.

He said that when the police men realised that the FRSC operatives weren’t going to give in, they then arrogantly turned back and followed the right lane.

The official said the FRSC Corps Marshal, Dr Boboye Oyeyemi, had frowned at this act and therefore directed that the affected operatives and their vehicles be prosecuted for traffic violation and assault on its personnel.

The Lagos Sector Commander said that the security agencies were never in support of the misconduct of these disgruntled few.

Ogungbemide also warned that such lawlessness would no longer be accepted and promised to prosecute any security operative who attacks any of its personnel while discharging their lawful duties to safeguard lives on the roads.

He advised motorists to desist from driving against the flow of traffic and to always adhere strictly to traffic rules and regulations. (NAN).

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has given telecommunications operators in the country two weeks to block all SIM cards that are not registered with the National Identity Numbers (NIN).

It warned that any telecom operators that failed to comply with the directive risked outright withdrawal of its licence or heavy penalty.

A statement on Tuesday by the Director of Public Affairs of the NCC, Dr Ikechukwu Adinde, noted that “following the earlier directive on the suspension of new SIM registration by network operators, the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami) convened an urgent meeting of key stakeholders in the Communications industry on Monday, December 14, 2020.”

Adinde said submission of NIN by subscribers must take place from December 16 to December 30.

“After the deadline, all SIMs without NINs are to be blocked from the networks,” he said.

The statement said that a Ministerial Task Force had been tasked with monitoring compliance by all networks, and thar violations would be met with stiff sanctions including the possibility of withdrawal of operating license.

Adinde said stakeholders agreed at Tuesday’s meeting that drastic measures urgently needed to be implemented to improve the integrity and transparency of the SIM registration process in Nigeria.